A Frail Poise of Life

“No matter the nature of your individuality, you can nurture a better identity and have a mature positively rewarding life.” ― Ifeanyi Enoch Onuoha

They dragged themselves heaving their luggage till the seat. The boy confirmed the seat numbers. My niece and me moved away so that they were comfortable.I was travelling back to Pune from Hyderabad after visiting my sister who was unwell with a fracture in her ankle. It was painful to see my sister in a troubled state, but ecstatic to meet my siblings and their kids. My niece who was lately married off was also there to take care of her mother. She had come to see me off along with her father.

The man and the young boy huddled in their seats. I had got the window seat in the AC chair car. The train chugged away at sharp 2.45pm. The boy sat next to me and the father a seat away. The whole bogie was filled with people making it very safe for all those who were travelling alone. On the far end was a young woman with a six month old baby There were youngsters who were probably returning back to their work places after a weekend.

It was burning hot at Hyderabad but was very cool and comfortable inside. More over travelling by this train is most preferred as it takes the shortest time, helping travellers reach home the same day. The Shatapdi train starts from Pune at 5.50am and reaches Secunderabad at 2.10 pm and starts back at quarter to three to reach Pune at 11.10pm. The train stops at a few major stops as Sholapur, Gulburga, Tandur. Food and water are supplied and so it relieves the traveller from carrying anything other than the luggage.

The boy was lean and lanky and must have been fifteen to sixteen years old. The father seemed to be from a village but was dressed in a Safarisuit, in spite of the hot weather. He seemed uncomfortable and raised a leg and sat with the other leg folded on the seat. The boy listened to songs on the Nokia Mobile. He sporadically kept correcting his father with the vital etiquettes so as to personify themselves as a class apart from what they were. A member of the staff serving at table brought along the tray with snacks, giving time for the passengers to gorge it before serving tea. I had my lunch at my sister’s home and did not wish to eat that. I kept reading my book but could hear the boy slowly guide his father to eat. The man ate every thing and did not know what to do with the packet sauce. He asked the boy to pocket it, but the boy asked the father to leave it in the tray. He later opened the plastic cover containing sugar, milk powder for tea. The attendant brought cups of hot water and served it, the boy did not want it but was shocked to see that his father had torn the tea packet which had to be dipped in water, spilling the tea leaves in the tray. He slowly whispered in Marathi that the kit was of no use. But the father felt it was hard earned money and put a lot of the spilled leaves in the hot water. With the help of the boy, he added sugar and the milk powder and churned it with a plastic stick vigorously and sipped it loudly. I was watching the child’s expression. The boy was not infuriated but tenderly cajoled his father towards a sophisticated behaviour. The man slept later and snored loud, but the boy was alert and the duo got down at Sholapur.

I could now see the mother and the baby at the other end clearly. The baby was beautiful, innocent and most vivid. I could not take my eyes off the child as it was looking at all the passengers with a toothless smile. The baby tried to put its fingers in the food, or tried to pull things. The mother now gently tried to move the baby towards the right behaviour. They put their heads towards each other, laughed and loved each other. I saw that the baby was just six to eight months old but recognised and understood the mother. Not a moment did the mother feel tired or upset with the baby’s behaviour. While disembarking I asked her whether I could help her by carrying the baby. The baby though in my arms was watching his mother hesitantly.

These incidents in the train simplified Sheetal Jain’s blog post on nurturing relations. She says that true relations have to be reared selflessly and tended lovingly as plants to blossom. The young boy was nurturing his relation with his father in the most uncomplaining way and here was a mother who had fruitfully fostered a smile throughout the tedious journey.

I remembered the old couple of ladies who walk together in the evening. One of the old ladies is coaxed every day by her companion towards walking to regain the lost health. She has to use a walker and finds it difficult placing her foot on the path while walking.I was also reminded of the beautiful old married couple who are above seventy years old, who still find themselves lost in each others companionship. The coyness in the lady and the brightness in the man’s face portray's the divine life they lead.

Whether it is a relationship between grandparents and grandchildren, a husband and wife, a doctor and a patient, a boss and an employee, a teacher and a student, parents and children or two friends, a bond grows stronger when tended with love and patience leaving no space for misgivings.True relationships have to be reared caringly with faith, warmly with love, genially with togetherness and graciously with patience to help them blossom. True relations need to be tended with adoration and a freshness to keep it going.

While human nature largely determines how we hear the notes, it is nurture that lets us hear the music.”